The present invention relates to a regulator for diving and more particularly to such a regulator suitable to be used as a regulator usually referred to as a second stage.
A regulator for diving is well known which comprises a basic structure containing therein a diaphragm, a pressure-controllable air supply mechanism provided within the basic structure, a lever interposed between the diaphragm and the air supply mechanism, a mouthpiece connected to the basic structure and a check valve mounted on the basic structure. The air supply mechanism in the regulator of this type has a tubular housing containing therein a pressure reducing valve. The lever has one end adapted to be pressed against the diaphragm and the other end formed with a pair of arms opposed to each other. These arms are inserted into the housing from its opposite sides so as to be engaged with the pressure reducing valve within the housing and thereby adapted to switch this pressure reducing valve between opened and closed positions.
The lever adopted by such conventional regulator can be inserted into the housing only after the pair of arms have been set sufficiently apart in a transverse direction of the housing. Operation of setting the arms apart takes much labor and time in the course of assembling the regulator and may unacceptably deform the lever depending on a degree of setting apart. Furthermore, these paired arms are movable independently of each other and this feature may cause a problem such that the lever can not be stabilized in its proper shape and may be unintentionally deformed in the course from manufacturing to use thereof. Such apprehension makes it difficult to handle the lever at ease.
It is an object of the present invention to a regulator of the type described above and more specifically to facilitate a lever to be mounted on the housing and simultaneously to prevent the lever from being deformed.
According to the present invention, there is provided a regulator for diving comprising a basic structure containing therein a diaphragm and adapted to be kept in substantially air-tight condition so long as a diver is actually using it, a pressure-controllable air supply mechanism provided within the basic structure, a lever interposed between the diaphragm and the air supply mechanism, a mouthpiece connected to the basic structure and a check valve provided in the basic structure so as to be switched between opened and closed positions.
The air supply mechanism has further a tubular housing connected to an air supply source lying outside the basic structure with its longitudinal axis extending in a horizontal direction, a valve seal provided in the housing, a valve member adapted to be separably pressed against the valve seal and a biasing means biasing the valve member against the valve seal. The lever has an outer end portion adapted to be pressed against the inner surface of the diaphragm, an inner end portion adapted to be engaged with the valve member within the housing to switch the valve member between opened and closed positions and a pair of intermediate portions extending in parallel to each other between the outer and inner end portions so that these outer end portion, inner end portion and intermediate portions may form a substantially rectangular frame-like structure. The tubular housing is inserted between the pair of intermediate portions in the horizontal direction so that the outer and inner end portions are opposed to each other with the housing therebetween and a range of the inner end portion substantially striding over the housing orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of the housing in the horizontal direction presents a rectangular cross-section having longer sides extending in the vertical direction. The housing is formed with a vertical groove extending orthogonally to the longitudinal axis and striding across the housing to receive the range of the inner end portion inserted thereinto in the vertical direction so that the valve member serving as a wall movable in the direction of the longitudinal axis may be pressed against one surface of the range inserted into the groove under a biasing effect of the biasing means while the opposite surface of this range may be pressed against a wall of the groove serving as a stationary wall under the biasing effect of the biasing means and thereby this range of the lever s inner end may be held between the valve member and the wall of the groove.
The present invention includes preferred embodiments as follows:
The groove of the housing has its bottom extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis and the range of the lever striding over the housing is held between the valve member and the groove in the direction of the longitudinal axis.
The inserted range of the lever""s inner end portion is not interrupted in the middle zone of this inner end portion.
The inserted range of the lever""s inner end portion is bisected in the middle zone of this inner end portion.